


A sanctuary love child

by SteamPunk93



Series: Here by Dragons [2]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Childbirth, F/M, Families of Choice, Friendship, Gen, Love, Missing in Action, Mystery, Some Humor, Some angst, Unplanned Pregnancy, graphic childbirth, thoughts of abortion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-23 07:39:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3760027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteamPunk93/pseuds/SteamPunk93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate and Declan are in love and after a night making love, Declan is missing in action. How will Kate, and everyone else for that matter, deal with the results of that night? Will Kate have to bring a baby into the world alone? Warning does contain swearing and maybe more details than is necessary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1: Discovered by Week 11

Week 11  
Kate sat on the couch in Magnus’s office and thought about the last time she had been with Declan McRae, the first man she had ever properly fallen in love with. In fact, that was what she told him one night, that she was in love with him. And Declan told her that he been in love with her ever since he first saw her. 

Three months ago, they had spent that night in his bed and had been half heartily thinking of a way they could be together on a more permit basis (in-between other, more intimate things). That was the night before he had to leave for a mission in Antarctica, investigating a dragon sighting in the British Antarctic Territory. Declan promised Kate that as soon as he was back, they would properly talk about how they would get their relationship to work. He was supposed to check in every 24 hours and he did for the first 72 hours but after 96 hours of no contact after an earthquake Helen had to declare him missing.

Missing. That word didn't quite seem to do the situation justice.  
Kate truly missed Declan and for the first time in a long time, she felt totally alone in the world. She had been severely distressed by his absence for months and her body seemed to have been just as upset as her mind. She hadn't been a well woman for months; she caught colds and bugs and couldn’t shake them for weeks on end. As well as a few vomiting spells. Kate didn't really think much of it, she was more preoccupied trying not to tell the others see how upset she was. She hadn't even told Helen about their relationship. When she asked Kate why she seemed distracted lately, Kate dodged the question as best she could. Although, Helen herself was fairly sure that was more than a professional relationship between the two of them.

Kate woke up from her daydreaming and reminiscing of that night when Henry and the Big Guy got to Magnus’s office for the debriefing of the next abnormal they would try to capture. She wasn’t looking after to this mission or any mission really. Kate just wanted to be left alone. But she wanted Declan back more than anything.

Helen began to debrief everyone, “There a series of reported attacks fisher men at the docks. From what I have gathered, they were attacked by a rare species of abnormal sea lion. As of yet, no one has been killed, so we should count our blessings but these creatures are very aggressive and territorial. So stay alert. We should also think of it as a mercy that there seems to be only one sea lion and not a pack.” Magnus said.

“What is one doing this far north?” The big guy asked, knowing that abnormal sea lions are rarely ever seen north or south of the Equator.

“We aren’t sure. I am slightly more worried about where it’s is pack as these creatures rarely ever hunt alone.” Magnus replied  
“It’s seems pretty consistent about when hunts as all of the attacks occur in the same two hour time period, which is in about 40 minutes. So get geared up and ready to go in ten minutes.” Said Will before they all filed out. 

As Kate walked passed, Will found himself wondering if was it his imagination or hadn’t Kate's waist been narrower before. Will’s next thought was his task focused mind telling that the abnormal sea lion was more important than whether or not Kate had gained some weight.

As it turned out the sea lion had lost its pack, but now they had been reunited. Most of the pack had been captured without any injuries so far. Kate had been following the figure in the water and was about to stun it when she felt a twinge in her belly followed by wave a nauseas which slowed her down. The sea lion saw this before it and one other member of its pack jumped up out of the water, bit into her pant legs and pulled her down and off the dock. Kate’s head hit the dock on the way down and knocked her unconscious.

The Big Guy dived in after her and tried to get her to the surface before she drowned. Helen got her on to the dock and revived her while the Big Guy, Will and Henry tried capturer the last two sea lions. 

When Helen got Kate to the infirmary, still unconscious, she decided to run a full medical examination of Kate to find out what had made Kate slip up on mission. She started off with a blood test, which told a fair amount of Kate’s overall condition lately, both physically and emotionally. 

When Kate woke up, she told Magnus about the twinge in her stomach. She thought that she had contracted some kind of parasite. Magnus informed her that according to some people she did have something of that nature as she was pregnant.  
Kate protested, she said that she had hormonal implants in her arm and that every time she had sex, she always made the guy wear a condom. Magnus said had that they had expired six months earlier and that she was at least 11 weeks pregnant.  
That information had barely sunken in when Kate tried to excuse herself from the infirmary, despite Helen’s protests. Helen eventually let her go after Kate said that she just needed to wrap her head around the fact that she had a baby growing inside her.

She needed to think. Kate needed to be left in peace to think. Still in shock she made her way to Ralphie the Steno’s pen. Later on Kate would think that was entirely appropriate that she went to be with him to think about being a mother as she had accidentally become his adopted mother.

Kate thought about what to do in Ralphie’s pen, should she keep the baby or not? She thought about how if ever she found herself pregnant before she came to the Sanctuary, she would have an abortion. But could Kate do that now? Could she have an abortion when she was already thinking about human growing inside her as her baby? And that this child could be all she had of Declan left? When her brother was born, she held to help her mother raise him so she knew how to look after a baby. But could she afford to have a baby while working for the Sanctuary? Kate knew well just how hard it was to raise a baby. But if she did have the baby, with Declan still missing, she faced the prospect of being a single mother. And a single mother who worked for the Sanctuary, no less. She told the pros and cons to Ralphie, almost hoping that he would spontaneously start speaking or something to tell Kate what to do. He didn't speak, but Ralphie licked Kate's lower belly while looking up at her and that was when Kate decided to keep the baby. 

Helen found Kate; still wearing a medical shrill, with Raphie’s sleeping head on her lap the next morning. Kate told her that she wanted to keep her child. Magnus said that she would give Kate every support she could. Kate said that would appreciate that, but the only one whose support she really wanted was Declan’s. Helen smiled and nodded, knowing just what Kate meant.

She also made a mental note not the let Nikola near Kate if she could help it. He and Kate didn't get on together very well at the best of times and this differently wasn't the best of times for Kate.

The next week, Kate went to the infirmary for an ultrasound. While Magnus was putting the cold gel on her belly, Kate noticed the beautiful jade, obsidian and red gold bracelet she was wearing. But she didn’t say anything as Kate was really nervous about the about the baby. Only last week she nearly drowned and she had no idea if that had done something to her baby. That’s why when Magnus turned on the machine, Kate looked away. 

“The fetus is very strong and health.” Magnus said reassuringly, understanding very well Kate’s fears. She was very worried the first time she went for an ultrasound when she was pregnant with Ashley. Kate looked at the screen and watched her baby trying to somersault.

Magnus thought of all the times she had been a midwife and obstetrician since the ultrasound was invented and all the mothers that shed tears when they saw their tiny babies on the monitor. She, herself cried when she knew that Ashley was fine and healthy. And in contrast to those times, Magnus found herself giggling with Kate as the pair of them watched her baby kick and try to back flip.

After Magnus gave Kate a run down in how her baby was developing, what would be happening her and what jobs now she wouldn’t being doing (to keep the baby safe), she asked Kate a very important question, “I know that this still all very new to you, but have you thought of any names yet?”

Kate looked at the print out picture of her baby and thought for a minute before answering, “One name. If it’s a girl, Maia.”  
That night, Kate was on her bed, looking at the picture of her child and thinking of the night she and Declan made Maia. She then daydreamt of what it would be like to have Declan cuddling her and looking at the picture of their child. However, when Kate comes back to reality, she was painfully reminded that Declan wasn’t beside her and she possible was going to bring the baby into the world alone. She told herself not cry and fought back a storm of tears. Kate may have shed a tear or two but she was not going to cry over this picture. It wasn’t the baby’s fault her father wasn’t here! And Declan was only missing. Kate told herself that until she saw his body, Declan wasn’t fucking goddamn dead! 

She eventually got to sleep and dreamt that Declan was beside her and she was tracing the small SAS Special Forces tattoo on the inside of his right arm.


	2. Chapter 2 Telling the world

Week 13  
Kate woke up one morning in a panic. A panic that started by the realisation of one thing she really had and that realisation sparked off a seething storm of a thousand questions in her head. Kate realised that she was going to have to tell her mother. She was going to have to tell her mother that she was now an expecting grandmother. And that the father was mission in action, possible dead. And even if he was here, Kate had no idea how he would reacted to being told that she was carrying his baby, so wasn’t likely to be getting married any time soon.

How the bloody hell was her Mum going to react when she hear this? Would she lecture her about sex before marriage? Would she yell at Kate for not using safe sex? Even though she had been using a contraceptive for years and she couldn’t help it if the goddamn thing had bloody expired? Would her mother disown her and never speak to Kate ever again?   
But worst of all, what if her mum decided, that since Declan wasn’t here, to “come and help her”; meaning “come down and try to run her life”? And tell her that she’s doing everything wrong? And then what if Declan turned up? Would her mother guilt press him into marrying her? Kate wasn’t even sure if she even wanted to marry Declan. Honestly, what would be wrong with just living with Declan for the rest of their lives? If Declan even was still alive. 

Kate’s mind ran wild as it dreamed up every serino (whether it was totally ridiculous or not) where telling her mother she was pregnant resulted in her mother throwing a spanner or two in the works and not only ruining her life but her baby’s and possible Declan’s as well. 

But she had to tell her Mum she was pregnant.

Didn’t she?  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Meanwhile.

Will Zimmerman wasn't a former FIB profiler and psychologist for nothing, in fact that's what he told Kate when he confronted her and told that he knew something was wrong as she hadn’t been on the mission list since the sea lions.   
And Will confronting her just she had successfully convinced herself to her mother the news and was preparing herself for mother’s most likely reactions was really, really not what she needed right now.

She tried to hind how upset she was (very unsuccessfully) and bluntly told will that it was none his business and remained him that he had need a while to recovery after Mumbai before walking off. Her angry words did find there marks but Will was more guttered when he heard Kate start to cry and then cry all the way back to her room.

He still went to see if Magnus had any idea about what was up with Kate. That was the first he had seen Kate cry, after all. Magnus told him that he should wait for Kate to be ready to tell him in her own time. Part of Magus wondered if Kate would tell anyone before her belly really started to swell. 

Will added her gaining some weight and her emotional state to the other things Kate hadn’t been allowed to do lately. He thought about all this information until one answer crossed his mind that answered why she wasn’t on the mission list. One week later, Kate was alone in the library, he apologised for being a jerk to her before he asked, "Kate, are you pregnant?"   
Her face and her silent stillness had almost answered his question by themselves, but Kate knew that she wasn't going to get out of this and she didn't entirely want to keep her baby a secret anymore.

"About 3 and half months." She said, desperately trying not to start crying again. 

One part of Will didn't expect Kate to just not fight and not only cave in but tell him how far along she was. The rest of will was shocked that Kate was pregnant. A small part of him was aware that Kate could start crying again and he was no really equipped enough to comfort her or stop her crying. That part of him just didn’t state its case loud enough as after a few awkward minutes pasted the only thing a still studded Will could say was. “Um…So…Who…? Who is the father?”

“Declan McRae.” Kate said and this time she can’t hold back the tears this time.

A few days late Kate was walking around the Sanctuary trying to clear her head after the ear bashing she had received after telling her mother about the existence of Maia, aware that she now had a baby bump when Henry come round the corner.   
“Hey Kate, how are you this morning?” Henry asked innocently enough while still looking at his iPad.

“How am I? How the fuck am I?!” Kate yelled, before letting ripe and telling Henry everything. That she was pregnant with Declan’s baby, that she had no real idea how was coping to cope working for the Sanctuary while trying to raise a baby without him, that her mother had effectively disowned her for falling pregnant out of wedlock and she had discovered that she was pregnant after she was nearly killed the abnormal fucking sea lions! Once she realized that she had just spent about 5 minutes yelling at Henry, she tried to apologise before she started crying and then ran back to her room. 

After Kate ran off crying, Henry felt vilified, confused, bewildered and awful. The Big Guy came up to Henry, having heard Kate’s rant up the hallway and having his suspension that Kate was carrying Declan’s child confirmed, to see how was after being yelled at. Henry turned to him and said, “All said was ‘How are you this morning?’!!” 

The Big Guy chuckled.  
When Henry told Will how Kate reacted and what she said, he got why she was behaving the way she was. She was scared, she wasn't coping and she was lashing out. The Big Guy discreetly rolled his eyes as Will declared his theory about Kate. He could have told Will that Kate was scared and not coping with life weeks ago. And Henry figured it out after Kate yelled at him for about 5 minutes. 

Afterwards, Will thought that it was a good idea if Kate can't go on missions, she could 'help' him with filing. His said that he is trying to keep her and her baby safe. Kate thought he just wanted her to do his filing, however she will do just as she doesn't have many other things to do.

When Kate got restless or felt left out, Henry would take pity on her and get her to help him do things around his lab. He learned very that if he wasn’t with her, to write his instruction down in case she forgot. Mostly he kept her company by playing video games with her in his lab.


	3. Chapter 3 Abby’s party

Week 16  
Kate was once a professional criminal. Therefore, there was always a small part of Kate that was uneasy and uncomfortable around cops. She and Will were co-workers and they got on well enough, but even this part of Kate was made uncomfortable around him as Will used to profile people exactly like her for the FBI before he worked with the police. And then there was Will’s FBI girlfriend.  


Kate tolerated Abby at the best of times. She currently was very much not going through one of those times. It was a very good thing that Helen picked this up through many of the sessions with Kate in the infirmary. Especially when Abbey started talking about throwing a baby shower for Kate. Helen knew that Kate would hate this very much. Figuring that it would be a bad idea to annoy a pregnant woman that now had a very short fuse and carried a hand gun on a regular basis, she got Abbey to throw Kate’s baby shower on Kate’s birthday. Helen hoped that Kate would take Abbey’s “baby shower” as a “birthday party for the expecting mother” and this wouldn’t upset her too much. This part of the plan was not a terrible success.

Although, this could have been because Kate was already in a state after Nathaniel, Declan’s second-in-command, became Head of House and he came to see Kate. Before Declan left, he made a will and left everything to Kate. Nathaniel decided to do the honourable thing and hand it to her in person. He thought that Kate take the will as a sign that Declan really loved her and she did, however, she was extremely upset by the fact that he did visit her. Nathaniel was Head of House because Declan had been missing for 4 months now, what chance did he have of still being alive? 

That night Kate had nightmare, she had her newborn baby in her arms, crying and she was looking at Declan’s frozen, half eaten body. Declan then turned into a zombie and tried ripe the baby from Kate’s arms.

She screamed and the Big Guy ran into her room sure that Kate was either being attacked or going to premature labour. He eventually calmed her down as he did for the next three nights. This meant that both he and Kate were fairly sleep deprived by the time Abby threw her party. 

Kate spent the party pretending to enjoy herself while she kept her hand over pocket, hoping that her mother was going to ring her to wish her happy birthday. Her brother did, eventually. However, Abby’s party was all a bit too much for Kate to take. At the first opportunity she got, halfway through the party, she bailed and retreated to the safety her room and waited for Abby to go away. The Big Guy came to her room to tell her that Abby was gone. And to see how Kate was emotionally. Judging that she had recovered from the party, The Big Guy asked Kate if she wanted to see had he had made her for her birthday. 

The Big Guy made her a beautifully decorated cot that can go beside her bed and one side slides down so she can co-sleep with her baby without having to worry about rolling on top of her. He had also made her some baby blankets and a little teddy bear. This made her cry a little, but for this first time they were tears of happiness. Biggie was glade that Kate love his present and he had made her happy. And now that Kate was with child, Biggie gave her a much gentler and softer smack to the back of her head.

Kate’s good mood, however, was shattered when Will, Magnus and Henry to leave without telling her why they were leaving or even where they were going. She was sure that it something to do with Declan. Kate was torn between feelings hope that Declan was still alive and feelings of dread because he had to have been missing for nearly 15 weeks for a reason. Biggie did his best the comfort and reassure Kate.


	4. Chapter 4 Declan, the Video and The Necklace

Magnus, Will and Henry found Declan in cave in the Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina. They were able to find Declan by tracking the signals from his satellite phone and his laptop. Will thought Declan was dead when saw a bloody line across Declan’s forehead. Magnus saw his chest moving as he breathed. On closer inspection, she found a letter left on his chest explaining how to treat him. That note also said it would be a good idea if the present wearer kept the necklace he had been given or gave it to someone most dear to him if they went exploring Antarctica or Hollow Earth. It may just save their life. 

Somebody else wrote a note at the end of the letter. Someone, with terrible handwriting, wrote an apology to Declan for the photo of him and Kate together on New’s Years’ in London being ripped. The author explained it happen as they were explaining to their superiors why they should let Declan go. The photo of Kate in his arms proved that they were a couple and thus she was his spouse. And as his spouse she had a right to know what happened to him. There was no reason to hold him and the superior wouldn't let him go. The writer reminded her superior of this and then told them that they should either let him go home or let her tell Kate why he was being held. Apparently there was a law that said as Kate was Declan's spouse, she therefore had the right to know what happened to Declan. One of the author's superiors didn't being reminded of that law and hit the writer while they were holding the photo for their trouble. That's how the photo got ripped and Declan was allowed to leave Hollow Earth.

Magnus called Kate, Declan was alive but unconscienes. She told Kate that she was doing everything she could to revive him. When Magnus got him to the Old City Sanctuary infirmary to do a proper exanimation, she found the necklace, it had the same pattern of alternating beads of dark green jade and obsidian in a red gold chain with same coat-of-arms craved on as Helen’s bracelet, although necklace beads were much smaller than the beads on Helen's bracelet. The style of the necklace remind Helen of a rosary: the alternating beads of dark green jade and obsidian in a red gold chain came down to a metal plate that one pantent depicted two dragons, one with wings and one without wings and a saddle shape in its back ....from that plate hung another red gold chain of dark green jade and obsidian beads lead to another pendent. This pendant depicted a girl that was dancing with a bow in her left hand, an arrow in her right, a sword on her belt and a bleeding heart behind her. On closer inspection, the girl had 4 scars on her face.

Magnus also found the Declan had five deep claw marks down both his right and left forearms. Will suggested that maybe when Declan fell and injured his head, something get hold of him but he was too heavy for its grip but it refused to let Declan go and left the scares on his arms. Helen thought that was an interesting theory. Kate didn't care unless it was going to get Declan to come out of his coma.

Something happened to the laptop in Argentina that turned the camera on and recording. Hank had spent the last few weeks trying to recover the video and clean it up. Kate wasn’t terribly interested in the video. She just wanted Declan to wake up. Magnus, however, was intrigued as to who gave Declan the necklace.

The video showed the cave where Declan was found. From what Henry had since recover (in random bits and pieces), the video showed John Druitt teleporting into the cave and then hitting his head, a man named Jared Rigel who studied psychology with Will at Uni and teenage girl that John always called Dunja. Dunja looked tiny when she stood next to Druitt so Helen guess her height at around 5’2’’, she had dirty blonde braided hair tied up into a bun, pointed elf-like ears, four claw marks running left to right dieanglaly across her face with the two middle scars narrowing missing her left eye and the right side of her face was bruised. She was dress in black and dark green military like clothes and black fingerless gloves; she was armed with a small sword on her belt, some kind of hand gun in a holster strapped to her right thigh and a round shield on her back. 

The coat-of-arms on the shield was just like the pattern on the bracelet John had given her. A black dragon with grey wings of the left-hand side, holding harp or lair in one hand was crossing swords with a ** very dark green dragon with no wings and a saddle like impression on its back on the right hand side that was also holding a weapon that looked a lot like a rifle. Under the crossed swords was what looked like a wolf’s paw print, only it had five toes instead of four. Under the paw print the dragons had their tails tied together. Encompassing all the figures, there were words written in Rune-like letters along the rim of the shield. Jared was wearing similar clothes to Dunja and, seemingly, could speak her language too. 

Interestingly Dunja always called Druitt ‘Montague’. The computer was damage and Henry couldn’t recover most of what was said between, just few half sentences, phases that made no senses and a few conversations that would have made sense if viewer knew what the context for them was. 

Jarred did something the laptop to boost its single, Dunja helped the camera got a good look at eyes, right eye was blue and the other was green but around the pupil the iris was like tiger eye in both eyes. 

When John said that they had to leave now, Dunja kneeled beside Declan and chanted in a strange language. Half way through her chant, she cut her right thumb on her left maxillary canine tooth and rubbed her thumb across Declan’s forehead.

John was about the go over to her when Jarred called him back. He said, “Dunja is praying for him. The prayer is from one warrior to another. She is trying to invoke the spirits of fallen warriors to guide him back home and to his sweetheart safely. And that his wounds heal with no ill effects and while he is healing, his people and his family are safe.” 

Dunja finished her chant and kissed Declan’s forehead. Video showed that Dunja was the one with terrible handwriting that wrote the apology at the end of the letter. John told Dunja to point the pen over her should in a tone that struck Helen as very school teacher like. Will was curious as to why Jarred was with Druitt and Dunja, and how did he know so much about her culture.


	5. Chapter 5 Declan's Awaking

18 Week  
Kate hardly left Declan’s side for two weeks. She wanted to be there when he woke to tell him that his was carrying his child and she wanted him to stay with her. When Declan woke up, he saw Kate on the bed beside him. She was sleeping on her side with her back to Declan. Magnus welcomed him back and he asked was wrong with Kate. Helen replied that she was there waiting for him to wake up. He walked over to the other side the bed to wake Kate up. The first thing he saw was her exhausted sleeping face and the next was Kate’s belly. Kate's pregnant belly. Helen told him that Kate was pregnant with his baby. Helen, who was often very good at reading people, couldn’t quite judge Declan’s reaction as he sat or more accurately fell on the bed opposite to Kate.

“How long have I bloody well been gone for?” Declan said, clearly wanting to shout but equally he didn’t want to wake Kate.  
“16 weeks in Antarctica we think and then two weeks here in the infirmary” Helen replied calmingly. After thinking for minute he asked, “So, Nathaniel is the UK Head of House now?” 

Helen nodded.

“Good. I…I want to stay here with Kate. And the baby. Our baby. Do we know if it’s a boy or a girl? Oh God, I’m going to be a dad?! ” Declan asked, now smiling as he trying to wrap his head around the flood of information presenting itself to him.  
“Yes, you are. I think that Kate would like that, if stayed here. She hasn’t really been coping all that well and she really could do with your support. And as for the baby's gender, it’s undetermined as of yet, but Kate thinks it could be a girl. And she even has a name picked out, Maia.” Magnus said, trying to answer Declan’s question as best she could. 

"Maia. Beautiful name.” Declan smiled at Kate’s belly. Magnus would have liked to leave him alone with Kate but something happened in Antarctica and, although the note said that Declan had sustained some head trauma, he could know what happened.

“I’m sorry but have to ask you what happened in Antarctica, do you remember anything?” Helen asked, remembering that the letter sound that Declan had sustained a head injury that could cause amnesia.

“No, I remember following foot prints off I what I assumed was the dragon and the ground started to shake. Then everything goes blank”

“Nothing else?”

Declan thought for second, closing his eyes, and then looked uncomfortable. “Well. I sort of remember something but it must be a dream.”

“Why do say that?”

Declan hesitated before answering, “Because Ashley was there."

“Ashley? Was she alright?” Magnus asked, full of hope that John truly was telling the truth about Ashley being alive.   
“Um…I think she was, although she burn marks down the right side of her face and her right arm, but she hugging a girl who was very much not alright. She was hysterical and Ashley was trying to calm her down. She was badly beaten and bloody and she had a terrible gash in her left knee. We were in some kind of infirmary or operating theatre. The girl kept looking over to me and Ashley kept trying to stop her.” Declan answered, eyeing Magnus suspiciously 

“What did the girl look like?”

“Blonde hair. Well-built but slim. About 16 or so years old. Pointy elf-like ears. One eye was blue and the other was green but around the pupil the iris looked like tiger eye. And she had four scars dioglinly across her face. But it was a dream”  
“I’m not so sure about that.’ Magnus replied. She was about to explain why when Kate started to moaning in pain and, still half-asleep, murmured, “Ow, Maia please stop kicking my kidneys. I need them. And I thought that you weren’t supposed to kicking like this for another month.”

“So, we are going to have a little fighter on our hands?” Declan said, as soon as the last word left his month, he realised how stupid he sounded. He planned to fall back on the defence that he was in shock from waking up and learning that Kate was pregnant with his baby. 

Kate was now wide awake and she tried bolt upright but her belly prevented that. Declan caught her as she fell and she kissed him.

Once Helen had finished examining Declan, he and Kate made their back to her room. Declan knows that Kate will be more comfortable talking to him there. Plus he wanted to be alone with her for a while. After all, she was 18 weeks pregnant with his baby, which was a lot of time he had missed. Declan thought that the cot the Big Guy made Kate was very cute and beautiful. Kate told Declan all of what happened while he was missing. That her mum had effectively disowned her.  
Kate cried as she told Declan this and Declan cuddled her and tried comfort her. How she loosed it at Henry after telling her Mum about Maia. And how she had to endure Abby’s party even though she doesn't like Abby and spend most of the afternoon dreaming up ways to kill her. Declan said that he was sorry he was there to tell Abby to piss off. Kate told him that she had feeling both guilty about wanting to go out of missions and not being able to. Guilty that the others may be in more danger without her to help them. But guilty about possible risking Maia's life. Declan said that he hoped he could remove her feelings of guilt about possible putting the others in danger and eased her guilt about wanting to go on mission.  
The baby kept moving while Kate spoke, Declan said that he had heard that it meant she was happy or excited. Kate said that Maia's kicks made her inside hurt a lot. Declan sang to the baby to see if it might quite her down or put her sleep. It worked, the baby settled down. Kate found herself not tired. Declan said he had to agree with her.

The next morning, Kate woke up to find Declan sitting up beside her with his hand on her belly. Because she was still half asleep and Declan had a ....look on his face, she asked, "Are you waiting for to kick or are you just trying to make sure that the bump is still there?” Declan smiled, "I was waiting for a kick just to conform I am not merely having a very good dream where I can freely live with the woman love and we are expecting a baby girl. I have to confess, I always want to have a little girl." He then lent forward to kiss Kate on the lips before kissing her belly.

He was still wearing the necklace because someone gave it to him and it would be rude to throw it away.


	6. Chapter 6 Declan’s back story and hope for the future

20 Week  
Declan sat on the bed with a birthday card beside him and an ultrasound photo of Maia in his hand. The ultrasound that day had confirmed that the baby was a girl.

“Are you okay? Are you thinking about Bill?” Kate asked, Bill was man who worked for Declan at the UK Sanctuary and had been killed earlier that week trying to capture a red listed abnormal. Declan shook his head. "No. Well, not exactly, it’s my Mum’s birthday in two weeks and I was debating with myself whether or not to tell her that is going to be a grandma”   
Studying Declan's face for a minute, Kate then asked, “You don’t think that she will be happy?

“Oh, I think she will be over the moon that she is going to be a Grandma. My Dad? I’ll not too sure.”

“You don’t get on well with him?”

“No, got on even less well after I signed up.” Declan said looking at his tattoo.

“Why did you join the Special Forces?” Kate asked as she sat down on the bed and snuggled up to lover. 

"The truth? I was a snotty teenager and one night after a fight with my old man, it seemed like a good idea, a way of escaping and seeing the world. And I knew that it would piss my dad off. So at 17, I signed up. And here I am still reaping the rewards of that dissection. My dad and I don’t talk or commutate with each other in any way. But my Mum and I still send each other cards on birthdays and at Christmas. Well, most years.”

"Do you regent signing up" Kate asking nervously. Declan shrugged "sometimes. But if I never joined up. I never would have met Watson and Magnus. And then I probably never would have met you."

Kate smiled. "Well, not under good circumstances, at least." the made Declan laugh as he knew that that was very true.  
She thought for a bit before saying, “Do you think that your Dad will talk to you again if tell your parents about Maia?”  
Seeing the expectation on Kate’s face, Declan answered as he put his hand on Kate’s belly, "I don’t want you to think that I want in any way, shape or form for our daughter to be a way back into my parents’ good book. Okay? That boat sailed a long time ago and he can get stiffed. It’s just that we are in a very dangerous line of work, and if anything were to happen to both of us, I would like to know if Maia had a safe home and family to go." 

"I think that I would have to go with you on that" Kate said after much consideration. Her own mother was still refusing to speak to Kate. After thinking for a minute, she said," You should send your mother the ultrasound. Your right. And I also would feel better knowing if there was a home and a family for Maia to go to if something were to happen to us."

Declan smiled as he and Kate signed his mother’s birthday card “From your loving son, his lovely partner and their unborn daughter, Maia." He hoped that the picture would open the door for him and his dad to put their differences behind them.  
As he and Kate got ready for bed, Declan thought of which fairy tale he knew to tell Maia tonight. Kate had been finding it difficult to sleep as Maia kept moving at night. So, Declan told her fairy tales, and sometimes he sang lullabies, to calm her and half the time Kate falls asleep listening to him. He was pleased that he could help his pregnant partner to sleep. 

Two weeks later, Declan got a letter from his mother requesting that he tell her everything about Kate, where they met and so on, and telling him how exited she and his father were to learn that they were going to grandparents. She thought that Maia was a beautiful name. She also told Declan that his father was looking forward to meeting Kate and Maia someday. Preferably soon. And when Maia is born could Declan please send them a lot of photos.


	7. Chapter 7 week 36 and birth

The first stage of labour

Declan was on his way to the gym. Kate joined him as she was trying to walk off the Braxton-Hicks contractions that she had been having over the past few days. She was getting fed up when them and remarked to Helen one day, "I wish my womb would just hurry up and have contractions for real." 

Helen replied, "Be careful what you wish for." 

Kate was about to understand the full meaning of Helen's reply soon enough.

In one of residential corridors, Kate and Declan bumped into the Big Guy, who was returning from the laundry with clean linen for the infirmary. Declan innocently asked why the Big Guy wasn't using the elevator. The Big Guy answered defensively, "Taking the stairs is a good way to keep fit."

Kate chuckled, knowing the real reason why he now never, ever took the elevator unless he really, really had to. Her smiled fell as soon as she felt another wave of pain in her belly. Seeing that she was in pain, Declan rubbed her belly, hoping to relive her pain. He tried to hind his excitement when he felt her uterus contractions under his hand, half hoping that this time was the actual event and soon he would get to hold his daughter. 

Then the lights started flickering, right before the big, heavy metal lock down doors fell down at both ends of the hall. Declan got on his radio after checking that Kate, Biggie and he were trapped in the corridor, "Henry? What's going on? Why are we in lock down?"

The answer was, "Er...I'll have to get back to you guys on that."   
******************************************************************************  
Henry had been in his lab, trying to find a match for Dunja's shield's coat-of-arm against what had been downloaded from the Hollow Earth map. Now, he was busily working on his computer trying to work out what was going on. Henry was grateful that this time, he was locked in his lab 

“Kate, what's wrong?" Declan asked with a trace of fear in his voice as he saw Kate try to double up in pain in front of him. He walked over to her to help her breathe.

"I don't think that these are false contractions any more" Kate panted with both pain and fear in her voice. Sensing that she was on the brink of panic, Declan gentle wrapped his arms around her chest and calmed her down and helped her breathe.  
Kate stared to inviolately shiver and it stared to unnerve her, Biggie told her that it was just another labour symptom. Kate was aware that the Big Guy and Declan had both acted as midwives for abnormal mothers and she had helped both of them at times, but she still wanted Dr. Magnus with her. So, she got on the radio to inform Henry about the current situation she was in. 

"Hi, Hank. I am going in to labour and I would very much like the Doc's help delivering this baby. HANK, MAKE IS HAPPEN!!!" Kate panted down the walkie talkie. Declan took the radio off her and tried to calm her down. He also tried to make Kate feel as safe as possible, having heard that feelings of not being somewhere safe can cause a woman's labour to stall. As Kate freaked out and Declan tried calmed her down, Biggie couldn't help but think, 'This is worse than when Magnus had Ashley.'  
Helen got on the radio and tried to help calm Kate down and she assured Kate that Biggie knew what he was doing and that he had helped at Ashley's birth.

The Big Guy then decides that it is better to wash the clean linens again rather than try to clean Kate's blood off the floor and out of the rugs. So he makes a nestlike bed near the wall. Basically Biggie just piled up between the two walls of the corridor until he was sure that Kate's blood wasn't going to reach the floor. Then he put the rest of the sheet in a corner on the corridor, so Kate could relive herself when she had to.

Biggie went through the check list of things he needed: some large clean towels to dry and cover the baby, a baby blanket to keep her warm and a large bowl or plastic bag to put the placenta in. He found the towels quickly and got a washing bracket empty for the placenta. Declan took his jacket off to use as a pillow for Kate.

At the same time Henry discover that his system had been hacked, again. Also, the Sanctuary was being remotely hacked by not one, but two hackers. One of the hackers had triggered the maximum lockdown. 

And these to hackers were fighting each other while trying to take control over the system that he created. Well, there were at least two hackers that Henry had found out that point. And one of them had got into the furnace and cranked up the heat. Also Henry felt awful knowing that Kate was going into labour and he can't even get the doors open for her to get the infirmary! 

Declan snuggled with Kate on the bed Biggie made her as he was trying to encourage her to rest. After all, she had been in labour for 4 hours. And she had nearly fallen asleep until her water breaks.

When her waters break, Kate thought, "Right. This is the most undignified day of my entire life. I'm standing in the corridors naked because I am boiling hot and my breaking waters makes me look like I am incontinent!!!" And she couldn't help but think about how on TV it going goes in one sudden quick go and how she looks like she's pissing herself and her waters show no sign of slowing yet. The Big Guy had a feeling that by the end of the night everyone was going to be crying.

Once her waters had stopped, Kate went on all fours to ease her back pain while Biggie was on the radio updating Magnus while he tried to find the nearest first aid kit to get gloved up. 

Kate also rocked her hips as much as possible to keep the baby moving down into her pelvis. Declan tried to keep her breathing rhythmically. He knew that rhythmic breathing would maximise the oxygen available to both Kate and the baby.  
Despite the pain, Kate was not going to scream. She would groan, moan and swear many times both in English and in Marathi, but she refused to scream. Kate was not going to do that cliché.

“Hey, Declan? Can you sing to for a bit? I find your sing soothing." Kate panted with arms around Declan's neck while alternated between shoulder and full back massages, she got so hot she stripped in the hallway to try to cool down and now she had accepted that she properly was going to give birth in this corridor. 

"Sure thing. Anything in particular you want me to sing, love?" Declan asked grinning. Kate answered "Just something calming."  
Declan obliged his lover and sang some Gaelic folksongs that his Irish grandmother taught him. Kate found them to be very soothing. As he sang, Biggie hoped that Declan could calm Kate down so her body could start releasing the good hormones, like oxytocin and endorphins, and not make this night too much worse for her. Especially as he had a feeling that, as Kate was a first time mother, this was going to be a very long night.

Declan was calm as he told himself that he knew what he was doing, he had helped abnormal mothers give birth, read books and talked with Magnus many times. He knew what he was doing, they both did. Declan just had make sure that Kate didn't panic.

Kate tried to stay positive through the pain and kept thinking, 'Each bloody contraction brings me closer to holding my baby' which was what she and Declan had been dreaming about for weeks. 

At first Kate is embarrassed at having to empty her bladder in a separate corner of the corridor, so Biggie wouldn’t have to clean it out of the carpet, but by the Transitional stage Kate doesn't care. Honestly, how much could she care after completely stripping in front of Biggie and having her broken waters make her look as though she was pissing herself?  
Kate felt a strong need to squat by that point, Declan stood behind her and held her up so she focus on breathing and pushing when the time came to. Declan also held her upright so gravity could do its job and help Kate give birth while he tried to keep her calm.

Henry was in a new level of personal hell. One of the hackers had a friend, who now came to join the fight. At least Henry won a small victory over the hackers and he had turned the furnace off.

The second stage of labour

Kate had been in labour for about 7 hours when Declan said, "Kate, you are the strongest woman I have ever met and you can do this." 

Then he kissed the back of her neck as he tried to keep her calm and keep her breathing rhythmically. Declan tells himself that he has done tougher stuff than this. After all, he was former SAS Special Force officer and he was a former Head of Sanctuary House. And he had helped abnormal mother give birth. He had done tougher stuff than squatting with his shoulder blades against the wall while hold his pregnant lover up right so she could focus on breathing while she gripped his hips so hard he wondered if she going to actually crush his hip bones. But she was in great pain and she was scared. More scared then he was as it was her body that was going through hell to bring their baby into the world. And if Kate did break his bones, Magnus could fix him. He was just grateful that the heaters had been turned off.  
Biggie keeps reassuring Kate that the baby is fine.

Henry and one of the hankers sort of teamed up against one of the other hankers, he tried to regain control over the Sanctuary while the hanker tried to lock the other hankers out. This system was working fine until one of the hankers tried to completely lock him out.

 

About 1 and ½ hours after Henry found himself battling against just two hackers, Biggie was getting worried about how long Kate had been in labour for when he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.  
"I can see the head. Black hair." the Big Guy grunted.

"Black?" Kate panted with excitement.

"What were you expecting? Ginger?" Declan chuckled in her ear before kissing her neck and made her laugh as she got ready to give the last push.

As the baby came out, the Big Guy checked if the cord was looped round her neck. And he remembered that healthy human babies often have a blue tinge to their skin when they're first born, but have good muscle tone and soon cry. This was how Biggie would describe Maia to Magnus before and he moved on to getting her dry and warm before putting her to her mother's breast. 

Declan slide down the wall, cradling a sobbing Kate in his arms while Kate cradled their newborn daughter in her arms. He tried to wrap his head around that his daughter was finally here and how someone so tiny could make her mother's belly so big while wiping tears from his eyes. The big guy thought back to when Kate's water broke, he knew that once the tears start, everyone will properly end up crying, including him. He wept in the hallway.

The third stage of labour 

The placate is usually delivered 20 minutes after the baby. Maia's birth followed this pattern. Which was when Henry got the doors to roll up, after one of the hankers sent a message, ‘ding, ding, ding.’ 

Henry bolted from his lab to the corridors to find Magnus and then help Kate as best he could. He didn't count on Kate being naked when he found her or the sheer volume of blood a human woman sheds during childbirth. Nor did he count on the interesting and gross smell of a placenta. He thought Maia was very cute through as he and the big guy carefully moved Kate to the infirmary while Magnus looked over Maia.

Will had spent the evening with Abby. So he was shocked by all the events that he had missing. He actually didn’t know which surprised him more, the fact the Sanctuary had been hacked again or that Kate and Declan now actually had baby. A living, breathing, wriggling, crying baby. That was here to stay for next twenty or so years. That was doing his head in.


	8. Chapter 8 the first six months of Maia's life

First month  
Kate was hardly separated from Maia, whenever Maia was out of her arms, she stay where she could see Maia. Expect for when Will held Maia.  
Kate was sick with an infection of the kidneys called pyelonephritis and was asleep in the infirmary. Magnus had her on a drip which put antibiotics straight into her vein. Declan was looking after the week old Maia.   
Declan walked around the infirmary singing quietly," The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown. The lion beat the unicorn all around the town. Some gave then white bread, and some gave them brown; some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town."  
Maia seemed to quite like Declan’s singing. Henry had started his journey off trying to find Magnus and Declan to tell them that he had partly cracked the code of Declan’s necklace and Magnus’s bracelet. He had spent hours going through the fraction of database of the Praxian map and he had come across so interesting information. But when Henry walked into the infirmary and saw Declan singing and walking around with Maia in his arms, the sight was so cute that it made Henry forgot his mission.  
Will came into the infirmary and told Declan that Nathaniel was on the phone for him. Apparently there something wrong with the UK security system. Nathaniel wouldn’t say what was wrong but he kept repeating the code word ‘Coulson’. He said Declan would know what it meant.   
Declan remarks under his breath, "Nathaniel, you have been in command for nearly 10 months and only now you found this part of the system?" as he handed Maia to Will so he could go and help Nathaniel. Will tried to cuddle Maia and he held for so she could see who was holding her. Declan told Will he would only have to look after her for ten minutes.

Maia didn’t know who was holding her, but she knew it was her dad and she didn't like being held by this strange man. So she made her feelings known and cried. So she cried so much that Will handed her to Henry.   
Maia’s crying woke Kate up. She watched Will, clearly not knowing what to do with Maia, hand Maia over to Henry. Maia was more familiar with Henry and she liked him. So as soon as she was in Henry’s arms, she stopped crying.   
Kate smiled and said, "Aw, she likes you, Uncle Hank."  
Will asks, "What did you do?"  
Henry shrugged, "I don't know, I just smiled at her I guess.”   
“But I was smiling at her!” Will whined, Kate wasn’t sure if Will was upset because Maia didn’t like him or she called Henry ‘uncle’.  
Henry held her for a few minutes before putting her back in her crib next to Kate's bed.   
Henry later found Magnus and Declan what he had found. Magnus bracelet had the coat-of-arms of a high born family of the Lycanthropeus Vampirs. When several members form two families marry, they form a new high born clan and the two coat-of-arms get combined. The high born families are the only ones who ride dragons and the kind dragons they ride are on their family coat-of-arms. The database told Henry that the dragon with no wings and saddle impression on it's back holding the sword and rifle was most likely from the Grün-Satteldach clan, a family of famous warriors and weapon builders. The dark green jade was the family colour because their dragons are the same colour. And the last time the map was up dated, which was roughly …hundred years ago, the latest members of the family were add..   
Magnus, from John’s letter, was able to guess the name of the other dragon represented the Grau clan. This seemed to confirm what he had told her in his letter. But Magnus still wasn’t sure if she was prepared to believe everything in John’s letter. She suggested to Henry to search the database for information about a Lycanthropeus Vampirs family called the Grau clan. But Henry told her that he already tried to find the other dragon but it most have been on the part of the database hadn’t been downloaded yet.

When Maia was four weeks old, Declan was walking down a flight of stairs while caring her and he missed a step. He then contorted his body so that it nearly every part of him and no part of Maia touched the ground. After coming to the end of the journey, he opened his arms to look at Maia and make sure she was okay. Declan found that she was smiling and giggling and thoroughly enjoyed the journey. Later he still thought that it was worth get a concussion to see Maia’s first smile. Kate never had the heart to tell him that he hadn't seen her first smile, but she decided that, given he got a concussion, to let him believe that one.  
##############################################################################  
2 months  
Once she got over her infection, Kate actually found that working for the Sanctuary had prepared her well for motherhood. She used to wake up at all hours of the night to feed abnormals, now she got up at all hours to feed her baby.   
Although, one morning Kate was really tired and an abnormal had escaped from the Shoe only to be recaptured in the early morning, she said to Helen, with dark circles under her eyes, "You know, there is something about the SAS that it turns out guys that no matter how many times their baby daughter woke them up last night, they are still ready for any and all action the next day."  
Helen chuckled in agreement before offering to watch Maia for an hour or two so Kate could have a well-deserved nap. 

When Abby was over visiting Will, Kate wouldn't let Abby anywhere near her or her baby. Declan kept pretending that they very both sick and showed Abby pictures of Maia on his phone. And he would very politely ask Will not to invite Abby over to see Maia without absolutely clearing it with Kate first. Biggie and Henry had a running bet on when Will was just going to send Kate around the bend and kill him and Abby before feeding their corpses to something in the Shoe. Magnus didn’t approve of this when she found out because she thought that may actually just snap one day and kill Will and Abby.  
##########################################################################  
3 months   
One night, Henry was doing something in his lab. The said something caused the Sanctuary to have a blackout.   
Kate was in a good mood that night and wasn’t bothered too much when the lights out. She simply finished feeding Maia before putting her in her sling and going to help the others with the candles.   
When Declan came to their room, he couldn’t help but tell Kate how beautiful she looked in candle-light, hiding a bunch of flowers behind his back.   
Kate and Declan make gentle love on the floor of their room. Gentle as they were trying to be quite and not wake their baby. Little did they know that Maia was already awake and was happily watching the candle light flicker on the walls.  
*****************************************************************************  
4 months   
Maia’s first swimming lessons are with Declan, Kate and Sally. Maia loved swimming. Sally loved Maia, playing with her and Maia was quite fond of her.  
When Sally looking after their baby during her swimming lesson, Declan was finally able to teach Kate how to dive. This   
Maia starts babbling, combining consonants and vowels 'baba' and ‘yaya'. She says 'mama' and 'dada'. She says 'nana' when Helen holds her and she says the same thing when the big guy holds her. Helen says that she won’t equate certain words to individual until she is one year old.   
*************************************************  
5 months  
When Maia started crawling, Kate and Declan tried really had to never let her out of their sight. But Maia wasn’t the baby of a former SAS officer and a con woman for nothing, and every time she did escape, The Big Guy or (whichever is closest at the time) would have to help the frantic parents find her. Even though the free residents would never let any harm come to her. 

One day, TwoFace stopped Maia crawling up the stairs. To be clear, he picked her up, however, he wasn’t very familiar with holding a baby and so he held as though she were about to explode. Maia wasn’t used to being picked up without being cuddled and she responded with crying which made Kate angry. Later Declan apologised to TwoFace on Kate’s behalf and thanked him for finding Maia.  
***************************  
6 months  
Most babies start teething at 6 months old and Maia was no expectation. Kate's baby brother found cold foods soothing so does Maia. So when she left with Magnus and the others, she had a little trick to give Declan to calm Maia down when her teeth hurt. Even as she was on the plane Kate couldn't help but thing about how now Maia was the first thing she thought about when she woke and the last thing she about as she went to sleep. 

In Antarctica and the sub Antarctic regions many native abnormals were going missing and in south America whole communities were disappearing. But by disappearing, was meant clearing out. Almost nothing was left behind, a couple of ruin shelters and strange footprints. Will and Henry were sent down together. Helen and Declan were due to join them. Leaving Kate and Biggie behind to look after the Sanctuary. Will that the abounded communities were emptied over time. And there were footprints smiler to the ones Declan saw. A image was sent to Helen, it was on her desk. Declan saw it and recognised then he broke his leg capturing an abnormal horse. 

So Kate got assigned to her fist mission in over a year and half. While packing she was very excited and so was Declan, knowing how restless she had gotten. 

But when the day to go finally came Kate found it hard to leave when the day came. She kissed Declan and Maia many times. Declan made Kate wear the necklace Dunja had given him. He didn’t know why, but his gut told him that necklace may just save her life. 

Kate looked out the window has the car left, watch Declan cuddle their 6 month old love child

 

To be continued


End file.
